7. Why 'Easy-Peasy' needs to be more highly rated

For an achievement to be worthwhile, does it have to be a labour of love? Or does 'easy-peasy' deserve more merit than it generally gets?

We are constantly fed the idea that a struggle elicits (deserves?) a satisfying and rewarding result. Indeed, a "result' is seem as a fitting reward for struggle. The trials of Hercules etc.

But what if you can achieve something with relative ease? Does 'easy-peasy' necessarily diminish or demean your achievement? Who is anyone to judge that it does? ;-)

And yet, do you find yourself judging yourself harshly and belittling your own achievements if the achievement wasn't tooooo difficult to achieve?

For example, I know that some people really struggle to find the words and the structure to keep writing their blog. They may pour over it for hours before they post it.

Me, I know I can write - I can play with words and ideas and get them down on paper or on screen in real time as I think them. The embryonic idea-buds may start to form a little earlier - when I'm in the shower, say, or lying in bed or doing anything else but writing and "actively" creating. But once I start, I find it pretty easy to write. Lucky me ... 

Yet last time I posted to this blog, I wondered if I was cheating my readers because it hadn't taken me a zillion hours and blood sweat n tears to write it. Was I a fraud? Was I a charlatan? Was I just tooo darn cavalier? Too casual? was it all just too darn EASY? All these anxieties and negative self-judgements began to flood into me. This had to be too easy to be considered worthy of merit.

And then I received a message on my Facebook wall - the reader was loving my blog ...

And I remembered what kitten with a ball of string is all about. It IS about easy - it is about play - and how easy - and pleasurable - and valuable things can be when they are easy.

Worthwhile achievement is not ring-fenced for the followers of struggle. Yes, life throws up its challenges. To all of us. Yes, we all face times of struggle.

And there also things that we find just easy-peasy. To undervalue our key strengths instead of playing to them is a pointless exercise in self-flagellation. So how about you play to your strengths and give yourself a break? Love doth not have to be a labour. Go with the easy-peasy. Like a kitten with a ball of string. It's a walk in the park.

© Annie Wigman

6. What's new pussycat??

There were crowds gathered and a-gawping. There were photographers and cameras galore... Something must be going on me thought ...

It was pretty chilly and my jacket was inside but curiosity got the better of this kitty and I headed off outside. What's new pussycat?

It was Tom Jones "busking" for BBCs The Culture Show on the Southbank - by the river right outside where I work. I had no idea this was happening - well not beforehand anyway!

I can't say I'm a major Tom Jones fanatic - but it was an 'event' it was a 'happening' there was genuine air of excitement and buzz all around. On a cold day in credit-crunch November here was a bunch of people who were entertained and happy. It punctuated what, for me, had been a rather dull,  uninspiring day thus far. I shivered out in the cold just to be a part of it. And I HATE being cold! :-))

But it was spontaneous and energising. A sort of communal high. It's not so unusual for unusual things to happen on the Southbank - it's one of joys of working there.

And it made me wonder about the joys of the new and different and unusual. When you're bored or feeling blue - what might you do that is unusual, that's new?

What's new pussycat?

Raindrops and Sparkle - a tribute to Lee

"Raindrops are falling on my head ...."

It's grey, dark and falling out of the sky - it's pouring and all the pavements are a puddle. Very, very wet. It's hard to feel playful when the weather's like it is. And yet a dash and splash of playful colour can so easily lift the mood. And so to this present to you - a sun coloured glorious gerbera.

It came to me as a present - a freebie from the greengrocer's store as I was passing by one day. I smiled and was gifted with the beautiful flower in return .... (make of it what you will!) and I now keep a photo of it by my bedside to cheer my spirits with bright colour.

Colour played a part in kittieness last Friday too. I was leading a workshop for my Co-Active coaching colleagues. These "Hub Club" sessions have a serious intention to help us to network, learn and grow - aaand also to have fun while we do the "serious" stuff.

In amongst the exercises, tools and coaching questions, I invited the participants to choose a coloured pen. It was kind of leftfield and out of the blue and I wondered if they would think I was nuts. Happily, squeals of delight were what followed and the vibe in that room was charged with the excitement and anticipation of children in a playground. It was delicious! And then I invited them to notice which colour pen they chose - and why ...

Such a simple device, such a mischievous ploy, such a feast of play - playful ways towards self-discovery and authentic self-expression - and brightness like the light of the gerbera flower.

In these days of hope and new beginnings following the Obama win in the US elections, I'm optimistic that self-discovery and authentic self-expression are in with a better chance. Creativity is cool, and hot all at once. I am excited - I am hopeful even when things seem to be happening toooo sloooowwwwwllllyyyyy!

I urge you that however tough things may get for you, to always make and take some time to simply play. Julia Cameron in The Artist's Way says that "Creativity is oxygen for our souls." I'd add that Play is oxygen for our creativity.

So I invite you to give yourself the time to get creative, be playful, immerse yourself in mood affecting colour. Play - create - express - BE.  Be seen, be heard, be felt, shine your light. Just BE ... Let the world and yourself receive joy from our creative spirit. Shine it brightly with spark and sparkle for as long as you can.

Sometimes a creative sparkle is cut down suddenly and way too soon. Lee Wright was a hugely popular salsa dancer, teacher and performer. I only met him once or twice but I saw him perform with dance partner and dear friend Shelley - and saw an amazing video of them on Facebook just a few short weeks ago. Although I only knew him slightly I couldn't help but be saddened and shocked by the news of his tragic death in a car accident in Spain yesterday. He had gone there to celebrate his birthday. He was only 24. He was a bright light loved by many and now may are bereft. But his creative spirit and dance through life will live on.

This gerbera is for Lee too.

Annie

blogger's belly ache - preview page not WYSIWYG!

Ah well, I published my post and my oasis of calm took a bashing ...

Good thing I'm a 'dancing-tree' as well as a kitten with a ball of string - the dancing tree, like a palm tree (oft found in an oasis) bends and flexes so it doesn't break...

It seems that my attempt to load two images instead of just the one gave the blogging software a bit of a belly-ache and, whilst it all looked perfect on the Preview Page, once I published the post the layout shifted (like shifting sands?) and I got a dose of prose and picture overlap ..

So I offer my apols, dear readers. And like the true kitty that I am, I'll take it in the spirit of learning whilst I play ...

The sparks may fly - and I'm still truly yours, yours truly,

kittenwithaballofstring,

Dancing Tree, La Sparkletta!

Annie - Monday 3rd November, mark II

3 - Oasis of Calm

Sometimes things go smoothly and sometimes they don't. We when they do, all is fine and dandy and you feel you can take on the world and win. Or, perhaps more accurately, that you don't need to take on the world because the world is standing shoulder-to-shoulder and hand-in-hand with you. And then suddenly it all goes "gloop" again and you can feel burdened, isolated and alone.

When it all gets too much, what do you do?

I've been rushing around trying to get lot of things in place just lately. Things in place, crowding in on my space. I love to be with people - and I love to have a feeling of wide open space around me. Some people are always time-tabled to the hilt. No gaps, no windows, no spaces.

Me I feel a need to build in contingency and space around events. It creates balance for me. Buzzy time and hazy, lazy fuzzy time. Just space to be quiet and still for a while. Time, in this world where we are always being urged to be proactive, to be 'in action' to just stop and luxuriate in being passive for a while.

The other day I stepped into a café. I wasn't going to as I was intending to be frugal with that extra cash I had come by - and was also going to rush to catch a train before the 'rush hour' started. But the café called to me. I'd seen it but never been in there before. It's a beautiful looking café and, a bit like Dr Who's Tardis, bigger on the inside than it could possibly seem from it's shop-front.

It's painted in restful hues of blues and soft greens, and lit up by a plethora of glistening mirrors and chandeliers. I had a cappuccino and a slice of custard flan. The "cap" was divine and the flan served on a gorgeous pink plate that perfectly offset the blues and the eclectic colour mix of the upholstery. In the background there was music - a calming lullaby of smooth comforting jazz.

Outside it was getting dark and it was raining. It was a cold and filthy eve. But inside for a while I had found my oasis. It nursed me through my anxious troubles. Even if only for a while. It brought back a smile to my face and reminded and gave me my much needed comforting space. It's called Chandelier ... (in Lordship Lane, East Dulwich)

• When you need an oasis, where do you go to? 
  
• What and where do you turn to? 
  
• Do you allow yourself an oasis at all?
  
• If not, next time - will you????
  
• If not, what does it cost you to not allow yourself to?
  
• What will it take for you to give yourself permission to?
  
• What's the treasure that will make it worthwhile?
  

Oasis ahoy!

© Annie Wigman